1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stabilizer for in vivo examination that is in contact with a biological specimen to suppress movement of the biological specimen during examination of thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
A known stabilizer for in vivo examination is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2005-338631.
This stabilizer for in vivo examination includes a tip having a round shape or a U shape. Dynamic movement of a specimen, such as pulsing, can be suppressed during examination by pressing the specimen with the tip or by applying negative pressure to a suction hole provided on the surface that contacts the specimen to suck the specimen by the resulting suction force. A microscope examination system including this stabilizer for in vivo examination is advantageous in that microscope examination can be performed while suppressing pulsing of the specimen, thereby providing sharp blur-free images.
However, since the stabilizer for in vivo examination disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2005-338631 merely presses a specimen or sucks the specimen by a suction force, the following problems occur. In a stabilizer that merely presses a specimen, although movement of the specimen in the pressing direction can be suppressed by increasing the pressure, this stabilizer suffers from the problem that it is difficult to effectively suppress movement of the specimen in directions intersecting the pressing direction. In a stabilizer that sucks a specimen by a suction force, movement of the specimen not only in the direction parallel to the sucking direction but also in directions intersecting the sucking direction can be suppressed by increasing the suction force. However, as the negative pressure applied to the suction hole is increased, the surface of the specimen at the suction hole is sucked inside the suction hole. Consequently, blood stasis may occur in the sucked part or the specimen may be damaged. In addition, when the specimen is sucked while the tip of the stabilizer is in contact with the surface of the specimen, and if the specimen bleeds, the blood is also sucked into the suction hole. In such a case, there is a problem in that the suction hole may become clogged with the blood while using the stabilizer.